AVLC vs MSTB

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

MSTBDLHA Market State Tactical Beta ETF

In short

AVLC Active management with index-fund manners: roughly 900 U.S. large caps, with the dial turned toward cheaper, more profitable companies. Avantis charges 0.15% a year to do it.

MSTB Instead of a standing options collar, MSTB keeps S&P 500 exposure and reaches for VIX futures only when its volatility signals flash stress, then can stand the hedge down when markets calm.

Stated mandate

AVLC The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It invests broadly in U.S. large-capitalization companies while using active decisions to overweight lower valuations and higher profitability.

MSTB The Fund seeks long-term outperformance relative to the large-capitalization U.S. equity market.

Why people hold it

• AVLC 0.15% a year against a 0.65% median for active U.S. equity funds. That is passive-style pricing on an actively run book.
• Holds about 900 names against the Russell 1000, so the value and profitability tilts sit on top of broad market exposure instead of a concentrated bet.avantisinvestors.com
• One of the stronger builds in the active U.S. equity group, priced in the same neighborhood as the Dimensional core funds (DFAU, DFAC) it competes with.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades steadily, so spreads and liquidity are rarely the sticking point. Distributions are paid quarterly.

• MSTB Baseline exposure is roughly 100% of the S&P 500, adjusted daily and generally held between about 80% and 120% based on a statistical read of the VIX.sec.govlhafunds.com
• The hedge is tactical, not permanent: long VIX futures go on when stress signals appear in the VIX market and can come off in calm stretches.lhafunds.comsec.gov
• Live since 2020, so the overlay has traded through real volatility spikes, and the long leg is plain S&P 500 exposure via an index ETF or futures.lhafunds.com

Worth knowing

• AVLC Launched in 2023. The tilt philosophy is well worn at Avantis, but this fund's own live record is still short.
• Active, not index-tracking. The Russell 1000 is a reference point, not a leash, so holdings and weights can drift from it.
• Leaning toward cheaper, higher-profitability companies means stretches where it moves differently from the plain cap-weighted market, in either direction.avantisinvestors.com

• MSTB At 1.38%, the fee sits above the category median and far above plain large-cap peers such as DFAU at 0.12% and AVLC at 0.15%.
• Long VIX futures cost money in calm markets, and a drop that arrives without a volatility-curve warning can land before the hedge is engaged.sec.gov
• A smaller, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than in the category's heavily traded names.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full MSTB profile⁠